In an area where you can get a burger, taco or chow mein on
nearly every corner, it's refreshing to have an eatery like Sansar.
On Pacific Avenue in Stockton, Sansar is authentic Indian food. It
is flavorful, homemade and refreshingly unique.

Sansar owners pride themselves on offering a gourmet experience.
A combination of exotic flavors, healthful preparation and the
respect for fine ingredients is what they believe has made their
restaurant popular.

Sansar is open both for lunch and dinner. Lunch is an
all-you-can-eat buffet, two tables filled with homemade Indian
vegetable and chicken dishes, rices and desserts. Lunch is $7.95,
from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily.

Dinner is from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Choose from a menu full
of appetizers, soup, salads, side dishes, breads, rice dishes,
vegetables, poultry, Tandoori specialties, lamb, sea food and
Indian sweets.

Whether you like spicy or mild, are vegetarian or
"meat-etarian," or if you're not one to typically branch outside of
the same-old dinner routine, it's safe to say there is still
something everyone will enjoy at Sansar. If you go at lunchtime,
you'll be able to taste at least 20 menu options that are each
homemade and authentic to Northern India.

The restaurant is usually busy. But on a recent Monday, the
restaurant only had a few customers and Anselm Fernands was running
the house. Until recently, Sansar was closed on Mondays. Now it's
open daily and Fernands expects Mondays will be busy as soon as
people realize the restaurant is open.

Fernands has worked at Sansar since February, and already he
knows the food well. Genuine and friendly, Fernands will help
customers find a dish they will enjoy. He recommended people try
the dessert Fernands on top of homemade rice pudding. Now, he says,
everyone eats it that way.

The buffet is an ever-changing buffet of entrees and sides. On
the day I visited, there was lentil soup, chef's special rice, Aloo
Gobhi (potatoes stuffed with cauliflower - rather tasty), Kadi
pakora (yogurt curry made with garbonzo flour), tandoori mixed with
wild vegetables, palak paneer (fresh ground spinach with cottage
cheese), chili chicken, butter chicken and more.

The chili chicken is like the Chinese dish. However, instead of
using beef, many use chicken or vegetables that are halal.

The customer favorite is butter chicken - chunks of chicken in a
orangy-colored, cream-based sauce.

Gulab jamun is a sweet
treat at Sansbar. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

After my first bite, I understood. It was very flavorful. I
tasted cream and spices and tender chicken. Every bite had a little
kick, but the spiciness wasn't overbearing. I liked the butter
chicken with slices of fresh, bubbly naan bread.

The vegetable dishes are nothing like you see anywhere else.
From spinach to the Lodi-grown okra, they create flavorful dishes I
was eager to taste.

I wasn't too sure about the dessert, gulab jamun. At first, I
thought it the sticky round treat was some sort of plum dish. I
soon learned that it is actually a traditional dessert made from
dry milk, semolina and cheese and fried in rose floured honey
syrup. I cut one of the doughy balls in half and tasted it with an
Indian rice pudding. It was like nothing I expected. It was sweet,
warm and a little like a gourmet doughnut hole.

Fernands says they're actually something the chefs are very
particular about. Fernands has to cut the first gulab jamun ball
open to make sure it's perfect all the way through because the
chefs are too scared to do it themselves. If a batch isn't perfect,
the entire batch gets tossed to the trash.

Attention to detail and perfection is something that Sansar
prides itself on - and you can taste it.